Oatmeal

Overnight oats are a delicious, easy, and convenient way to enjoy your oatmeal.

Rather then steaming hot oats in the morning, overnight oats are made by combining a few ingredients ahead of time (oats, milk, chia seeds, and sweetener) so you can enjoy a rich, creamy, pudding-like oatmeal breakfast in the morning, no cooking required!

Once you have the base recipe for the oats, the flavor combinations are endless. I have listed the base recipe down in the recipe card below and here are a few of my favorite flavors.

Double Chocolate Banana Oats

Stir in 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 1/3 of a banana (diced) and 1 teaspoon cacao nibs into the base recipe before refrigerating. Chill and enjoy.

My kids love a bowl of chocolate chip oatmeal for breakfast and their mama loves finding creative ways to give this breakfast a nutritional boost.

Here’s what I do:

I cook the oats in the microwave for three minutes (if you are anti-microwave, you can also do this on the stovetop).

Remove, and slowly stir in some egg whites. Not only do the egg whites add an extra kick of protein to the oats but they also make them super creamy. #winwin Just be sure to add them slowly so they don’t scramble.

Then back in the microwave for one minute. They should be super creamy and yummy when they are done.

Stir in some coconut oil and cinnamon. The extra healthy fats keep the kids full longer and I like that the coconut oil and cinnamon help to support immunity as well. As far as I’m concerned, kids can never have too many immunity boosters!

Top with your favorite toppings. In this case, chocolate chips. But I also love fresh berries and nuts or nut butter swirled in.

If you want to see me make these oats in real time, be sure to watch this video from FaceBook LIVE.

Have you tried overnight oats yet? I know they’re not a new trend but if you’re anything like me, it may take you a while to actually try something you’ve seen 1000x on Pinterest.

I find them to be perfect for warm summer mornings, especially when they’re topped with fresh seasonal berries.

Anything that can; 1. be made ahead of time, 2. is nutritious and 3. tastes delicious, gets the green light in my recipe book. And overnight oats cover all three!

Kids also love overnight oats, I think it may because they ultimately taste like pudding, and what kid doesn’t love pudding? Plus the combination of fresh berries and peanut butter remind me of a peanut butter and jelly sammie, so if you (or your kids) are a PB+J lovers, this recipe is for you.

Try making these oats on the weekend so you have them ready to go for your busy week.

Note: This recipe was a part of my Strawberry 3x video. You can watch video below.

Hey guys. Sorry I didn’t get this recipe to you last Thursday, as promised, but my 2-year old son and I caught a stomach bug so we had a pretty low key weekend.

Maybe it was the universe’s way of kickstarting me on a Spring detox, since I was kind of bummed about my winter weight gain. Life can be funny like that.

Anyhow, I’m back, better than ever, and ready to share some more deliciousness with you!

Have you heard of these overnight refrigerator oats before? I know this is not a new concept, but it’s fairly new to me.

Basically you take equal parts rolled oats, yogurt, and milk, mix it it with your favorite oatmeal flavors and pop it in the fridge overnight.

What you wake up to is a creamy, pudding-like version of oatmeal. And much to my surprise; cold creamy, pudding-like oats are delicious right out of the fridge.

I went with banana, cinnamon, and chia seeds this time around, but by all means, use what you love. This would be a great recipe to take through the seasons: bananas and pears in the Winter, rhubarb and kiwis in the Spring, peaches and berries in the Summer, pumpkin and apples in the Fall. The options are truly endless.

My favorite part about this recipe is that I can make a few jars before bed and when we wake up, breakfast is ready to roll (and super convenient too – these are great to grab and go when you’re in a hurry).

Now if you’d prefer a bowl of overnight oats to warm you up on the colder days, you can always go with these Overnight Steelcut Oats (another oatmeal favorite around here).

And if you want a little ‘what’s-what?’ when it comes to oatmeal then this Oatmeal 101 is just what you need.

Have you ever tried refrigerator oats? If so, what are some of your favorite flavor combinations?

For those of you who enjoy steel cut oats as much as I do, but can’t always find the time to make them, this recipe is for you.

All you have to do is boil some water and cook your oats for ONE minute before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning you will find perfectly cooked, steel cut oats waiting for you.

And when I say perfectly cooked, I mean p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y cooked.

I’ve been hearing about this technique for years and finally decided to give it a try. Not only is it the easiest way to make steel cut oats, but it yields the creamiest, lightest version of steel cut oats I’ve had to date. I highly recommend giving this method a try.

It’s really just another spin on a basic bowl of oats. I know some of you go crazy when I use the microwave, but what can I tell you, I use it, I like it, and I think it’s a great option when time is not on my side.

I just bought my first bag of chia seeds and I’m really liking them. They have the texture of a poppy seed and are packed with fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. I definitely need to do a little more research on them but in the meantime if you are curious to know more about these little seeds you can check out wikipedia as an easy place to start.

I’m a big fan of microwaved oats. It’s a very easy way to get a warm, comforting, nutritious breakfast on the table in just five minutes.

The secret weapon for extra delicious microwave oats is mixing some egg whites into the oats once they are halfway through cooking. Not only does this add some protein to your breakfast, (which has been proven to help us stay full longer) but it makes the oats creamy, fluffy, and extra yummy.

Just be sure to add the whites in at the halfway point. This ensures that you don’t end up with scrambled eggs in your oats.

For me, the apples and cinnamon add enough sweetness to this breakfast, but if you want a little extra sweetness in your oats, simply add in a couple teaspoons of your favorite sweetener (hint: maple syrup would be divine).

Another great way to eat this, is to skip the walnuts, and stir in a tablespoon of your favorite nut butter. Oh the options….

Has the weather begun to get chilly by you yet? Have you started making some warm oats for breakfast? If so, what are some of your favorite combinations? I would love to hear all about it down in the comments below!

*This recipe is from the archives – I’ve updated it with the video. Enjoy!

There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of things one can do with rhubarb other than mixing it with something sweet, like strawberries or apples, to balance out it’s natural tartness.

I once tried to incorporate rhubarb into a lentil dish based on a recipe by Mark Bittman and am sad to report that it was a big fat flop (in defense of Mark I did stray from the recipe and take full blame for the outcome)! So this time I wanted to travel a more familiar road with my rhubarb, something a little more tried and true.

Strawberries and rhubarb seem to be a classic combination. I’ve seen this combo in pies, cobblers, jams, compotes, and crumbles. But I just so happen to be a crisp-kinda-girl so Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp it was!

Rhubarb is a lot like celery when it comes to prep-work (check out my Rhubarb 101). You can certainly pull of the stringy-fibers on the outside of the stalk to ensure a less bitter, more tender rhubarb result, but I didn’t bother and was happy with my results.

If your rhubarb comes with the leaves still attached be sure to discard them because they are actually poisonous (yikes!). My stems did not have any leaves so I didn’t have to worry about this step either.

As for my topping, let’s just say I like a lot of crisp! This recipe makes plenty of ‘crisp-topping’ to generously cover the top of a 9-inch pie plate. If you wanted to lighten the recipe a bit more you could certainly cut back a bit here and still have tasty results (but really – what’s the point).

One thing to keep in mind about any crisp recipe is that they are best fresh out of the oven. Warm bubbly fruit and crunchy, crisp topping will always beat out a day-old crisp so try to make this with the intention of serving it ASAP.

And I don’t think that I need to remind you that fruit crisps of any type love to be topped with creamy vanilla food items such as ice-cream, whipped cream, and Greek yogurt, do I?

As for me… two more weeks until this little baby is due (although Katie was 10 days late so I’m not holding my breath) and I am in full blown nesting mode. Cleaning, organizing, and border-line obsessing about EVERYthing needing to be done before he arrives.

It’s as though I think I will never have the chance to ever do anything again once he arrives – LOL! – while this may be true for a few weeks, rationally I know better. But in the meantime, I scrub (and bake) away!

Directions:

Pre heat oven to 350

In a large bowl combine strawberries and rhubarb. Sprinkle in sugar and flour and lightly toss everything together. Pile fruit mixture into a pie dish (or a 9x9 Pyrex baking dish).

In a separate bowl, mix together the ingredients for the oats, wheat germ, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, maple syrup, and coconut oil (I find the easiest way to do this is with my hands). Spread the topping over the fruit mixture.

Pop into the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the crisp is browned and the fruit is bubbly. Enjoy!!

Kath began blogging as a way to record her 30lb weight loss journey and became a Registered Dietician along the way. If you enjoy peeking behind the curtains of other peoples health and life journeys you will probably enjoy checking her out. It’s truly a diary of her life – kind of like reality tv for the web – just without the crazy.

Anyhow, this is a recipe from Kaths blog.

I’ve always wanted to try baked oats and I get a lot of requests for a recipe so I was going to use this recipe as my base and then tweak it to my likes BUT much to my pleasure, the recipe was delicious just the way it was, so why mess with a good thing, right?

I hope you enjoy the play by play in this video AND I would LOVE to know if you’ve ever tried making baked oats yourself? If so, do you have any tips or tricks worth sharing?

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375F

In a large bowl combine the oats, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl mash one banana with the back of your fork until you have a baby food-like consistency. Mix in egg whites, milk, and vanilla. Combine everything together and then pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine well.

Grease an 8x8 metal baking pan and line with one sliced banana. Pour the oat mixture over the bananas and then top with the other sliced banana. Sprinkle sugar over the top and then pop in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

I think it’s the combination of the flour and the syrup that leave me feeling pretty lethargic and low energy shortly after eating them PLUS they don’t keep me full for very long which is exactly why I am such a big fan of these Protein Pancakes.

These pancakes are made with rolled oats, egg whites, and cottage cheese so they are more balanced than a traditional pancake in the sense that it’s not sugar overload. As a matter of fact, I usually top them with coconut butter or almond butter so I can really avoid going down the ‘sugar-roller-coaster-rabbit-hole’.

In a nutshell, I find that the higher protein pancake leaves me feeling lighter and more energetic than a traditional pancake and they certainly delivers in the flavor department as well (I can assure you of that because not only do my husband and I love them but both of my little ones gobble them up as well!).

If you want to SEE how to make them, check out the video and let me know what you think;).

In the meantime, I”m curious… do you eat traditional pancakes? Do they work for you? Have you tried protein pancakes? And/or do you have a higher protein recipe you can share with me??

Ingredients:

Directions:

Pop everything into the blender and blend until you have a pancake-like batter.

Heat a nonstick skillet over a medium heat. Lightly coat the pan with coconut oil or cooking spray and drop ¼ cup rounds of batter onto the pan. Cook until edges are bubbling and then flip and cook another two minutes or until edges are golden brown and pancakes are cooked though.

Not because it’s pumpkin (and we all LOVE pumpkin) but because it’s in honor and support of the ‘Be The Gold’ childhood cancer awareness campaign.

The goal is to make the GOLD ribbon associated with CHILDHOOD cancer just as the PINK ribbon is associated with BREAST cancer in order to raise awareness and funding for this crazy important cause.

Eliazbeth Stuk is the amazing woman behind the campaign and will blow you away with her dedication and commitment to raising awareness. You can read more about her journey at The Wishful Artist and follow the campaign using the following links.

Your morning bowl of oats just got a whole lot easier thanks to my friend Roni over at GreenLiteBites.

Roni took all of the ingredients that one might put into their morning bowl of oats and created these super tasty, super convenient Banana Oatmeal Cups.

Many of you may know Roni from her blog RonisWeigh where she has the uncanny ability to share her 70lb weight loss and maintenance journey in such a open, honest, and vulnerable way that anyone who has ever struggled with weight loss or body image can’t help but to relate to her.

Roni recently self-published her cookbook ‘Green Lite Bites‘ documenting some of her fave recipes from her first three years of food blogging and was kind enough to send me a copy to check out.

I knew right away which recipe I wanted to try first. I mean, who wouldn’t want to eat a bowl of oats in an on-the-go form of a muffin?!

I love this clever idea for several reasons, so allow me to share my top 5 fave’s:

1. Pre-‘prepable’. You can make them ahead of time and enjoy a quick, delicious, nutritious breakfast on-the go.

2. Kid friendly. Katie ate two of them as soon as she woke up this morning (and I got to drink my coffee when I’d normally be cooking!)

3. Versatile. I stirred in cinnamon, raisins, and walnuts, Roni added mini chocolate chips, and you can add whatever stir-ins you like in your oatmeal (think apples, pumpkin, berries, pears… you get the picture).

4. Good hot OR cold. It’s nice to have the option in my opinion.

5. Freezer friendly. That’s right! Make a big bunch, pop them in the freezer and they’ll be there waiting for you when you want them.

If you guys want to check out the recipe, you’ll have to pop over to GreenLiteBites and get it here. You can also see Roni and her little one demonstrate how to make them in this video!

And while you’re over there, be sure to take a look at Roni’s new cookbook. It’s packed with simple, nutritious, delicious recipes that are very do-able and Roni gives lots of tips and suggestions through out the book on how to make her recipes work with what you’ve got on hand.

Have you ever made oatmeal on-the-go before? If so, I’d love to hear your tips!

Chocolate and peanut butter are a no-fail flavor combination so it should be no surprise that melting them together and mixing them with oats results in a delicious little bite of chocolatey-peanut butter clusters.

I initially spotted this recipe over on Emily Eats Clean, a blog focused on whole, natural, unprocessed foods and healthy living (sound familiar?!). Emily is all about finding the balance between eating clean while still enjoying some of her fave ‘not so clean yet delicious’ foods. I love this balance because I am big believer that good health (in the way of food) lies somewhere between the food choices we make and the amount of pleasure we receive when we eat.

I love little sweet treats like these that come together on the fly.

They use ingredients that I always have on hand and since they don’t have to go into the oven, they’re a super quick fix with very little clean-up.

Do you guys have any favorite no-bake sweet treats that come together quickly? If so, I’d love to hear about them!

I’m officially 22 weeks pregnant and realize that I have not shared many pregnancy details with you guys. This is mostly because for the first 16 weeks or so of this pregnancy the only form of pregnancy communication I seemed capable of was complaining! It was a rocky beginning and let’s just say that survival out weighed my health concerns.

In other words, I spent four months eating buttermilk pancakes with butter and syrup, buttered toast, pizza, buttered pasta, and lots of sweets. Basically if it was made of sugar or butter it was on my menu and I spent most of my day sitting on the couch, watching Sesame Street with poor little Katie, swearing that I would never let my husband touch me again and complaining to anyone who would answer the phone.

Then just as I was beginning to come out of it the holidays rolled in and I spent a month back East eating lots and lots of cookies and indulging in my fair share of rich and decadent holiday meals.

It wasn’t a pretty picture but I’ve finally made it to the other side and am now feeling 110% myself again.

But I’m gonna be honest, after nearly four months of being mostly inactive and eating more junk food than I care to admit, my old “diet-mentality” tries to sneak back in. It says things like, “eat low calorie meals” “buy low calorie fake foods” and “follow this or that specific diet plan“. And then if I’m not “perfect” (whatever that means) it says things like, “you’re gonna gain like 70lbs while your preggo and never be able to lose it” or it tries to convince me that I’m some kind of failure.

Lucky for me, I’m pretty quick to recognize my old-dieting pal when she drops by and while I’m grateful for her efforts to try and help me I now know that her techniques do not work for me!! So I kindly say, “thanks but no thanks” and put my focus back on to real, whole, nutritious foods that are packed with nutrients and make me FEEL good (it took me a long time to learn to focus on my feelings and not my thoughts but I’m getting pretty good at it!).

This morning was my first workout back with a great friend of mine who also happens to be an amazing personal trainer. I call his technique, “the yoga of strength training” because the moves use very little weight and focus very much on proper form and body alignment with lots of stretching thrown in as well.

When I came home I was hungry and wanted something fast that would replenish and refuel my body after my first day back. So into the blender went some of my favorite post-workout ingredients, including; oats, protein powder, berries, flax seeds and banana. It was delicious and perfect… hit the spot, filled my belly, and was done in about three minutes.

And you know what guys? I feel great:).

So tell me… do any of you ever struggle with a “diet mentality”? Or/and do you have a fave quick post-workout meal? Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

I have been away from my kitchen for nearly two weeks now so when I woke up this morning I couldn’t wait to make something for breakfast.

I hadn’t gotten to the store yet, so I had to work with pantry items and that’s when I came a cross a can of sweet potato puree. Have you guys ever seen this?

It’s pretty much just like pumpkin puree (which I used last year to make Pumpkin Vanilla Oats) except it’s made with sweet potatoes.I figured if pumpkin puree worked with oats sweet potato puree would have to work as well!So I cooked my oats the way I normally would and then stirred in the entire can of sweet potato puree (I was making four servings) along with a little maple syrup, brown sugar, and cardamom.This combination was like an oatmeal version of rice pudding (which I never understood as a dessert and always thought would be a better choice for breakfast). It was sweet, rich, creamy, and…. oh, how does one describe Cardamom?Cardamom is one of the spices used to make Garam Masala (An Indian spice mixture) and it’s flavor is kind of elusive. It’s warm, sweet, spicy, and extremely fragrant. I think you can use it pretty much anywhere you would use cinnamon if you are looking to give your dish an exotic twist! And since I used cinnamon when I made my Pumpkin and Vanilla Oats I wanted to try something different with the sweet potato.

I couldn’t resist topping this combination with walnuts and raisins, it just kind of politely begs for the addition. But I don’t like to stir the topping in since I was making a whole bunch.

What I usually do is make four servings and then pop them tupperware containers like this:

Then when I am ready to eat them, I pop them into a glass container and into the microwave for about a minute and a half. AND then I add my toppings:). The oats will last in the fridge all week and it’s a great way to “pre-prep” a nutritious breakfast that you might not otherwise have the time to make!

BUT BEWARE: These oats are definitely a carb happy meal and would be good choice after a long, hard workout (neither of which were a part of my morning!). If you prefer a little more protein with your breakfast, try stirring in some vanilla protein powder or plain Greek yogurt right before serving!

Have you guys seen sweet potato puree at the grocery store before? If so, what have you made with it? I’m thinking soup would be a good choice too!

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Healthy eating made easy!

Hi, I’m Dani. I'm a Health, Wellness & Weight Loss Coach, Mom of two, and the Founder of Clean & Delicious®. I'll show you how to make healthy eating CRAZY-easy and insanely DELICIOUS! Learn more about me.